Davos, Switzerland — As talks of the Saudi capital city Riyadh hosting Expo 2030 gain momentum, the amount of optimism and skepticism is on the rise.
There is one man in Davos who has been working long hours to enhance optimism and minimize skepticism. Fahd Al-Rasheed, the CEO of the Royal Commission of Riyadh City, has been on the charm offensive to create awareness about his city to the who’s who of the global business and media leadership at this year’s Annual Summit of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
At a media session, Al-Rasheed said that with a US$250 billion economy and being the 40th largest city in the world, Riyadh would be a perfect host to the Expo 2030.
Currently a home to eight million people, Riyadh is growing exponentially as the city is investing heavily in strengthening its service sector and overall infrastructure. “There is about US$400 billion worth of projects underway in the capital city which includes Riyadh Metro and a new airport that could handle 120 million passengers per year,” said Al-Rasheed.
Though Riyadh is expecting a positive outcome of its Expo 2030 bid to be announced in November 2023, Al-Rasheed said that more than 50 percent of the countries with voting rights have pledged public support for his city’s bid.
When asked whether there would be an Iranian and Israeli pavilion at the Riyadh Expo, Al-Rasheed said the geopolitics of the Middle East is complex but Saudi Arabia will invite all countries that would have relations with his country at the time of the Expo.
In this new era, Saudi Arabia has no qualms in admitting its weaknesses in certain business sectors and hence wants to build strong partnerships with the world, said Al-Rasheed, adding: “We cannot do this alone,” as the world is clearly moving toward collaborative business and social models.
The geopolitics of the Middle East is complex but Saudi Arabia will invite all countries that would have relations with his country at the time of the Expo.
Fahd Al-Rasheed, the CEO of Royal Commission of Riyadh City, on whether there would be an Iranian and Israeli pavilion at the Expo
By 2030, Riyadh expects about 100 million visitors per year and Al-Rasheed is confident that Expo in the city will receive not less than 40 million people from all over the world. With recent visa relaxations and the introduction of an electronic visa, the target of 100 million visitors does not seem beyond reality.
Riyadh Expo, with a potential theme of Foresighted Tomorrow, is expected to create three million jobs across several business sectors, including the addition of 120,000 hotel rooms by 2030.
For the Saudi capital, the first obstacle is winning the Expo 2030 bid as it is facing tough competition from Busan (South Korea), Odesa (Ukraine), and Rome (Italy). Once this barrier is lifted, all plans of Al-Rasheed would be in motion, which include his idea of ensuring that Expo 2030 would be a place of physical and virtual engagement of hundreds of millions of people around the world as the Riyadh Expo would be the first such show fully integrated into Metaverse.
“We are focusing on three major things in Riyadh – preparing for a different tomorrow, climate action, and prosperity for all, and the reason that we are very passionate about these causes is that Saudi youth is ready, it wants action and Saudi students are working harder in schools and university to excel,” he said. Overall, there is an unprecedented amount of optimism and aspiration among the Saudi youth and the leadership does not want to fail them, he added.
The Saudi capital city is all set to announce its specific Riyadh Strategy in the next four months, which would supercharge the city’s economy. It has already rolled out 30 mega projects, he said.
Though most investments in the city are now being spearheaded by the government, Al-Rasheed expects more prominent public-private partnerships in the coming months that would cater to the need of building hundreds of schools and hospitals, among other things.
One of the skeptical arguments against the super-drive of construction is whether Riyadh will stick to its sustainability and green environment goals. As per Al-Rasheed, even before Riyadh Strategy, the city finalized its sustainability plan and one of the steps in that direction is planting eight million trees.
When asked whether visitors to Riyadh Expo would have the access to the choicest wines and spirits, Al-Rasheed replied in a lighter vein that considers Saudi Arabia as a detox tourist destination where a visitor is exposed to Saudi culture, history, and hospitality. While Al-Rasheed and his team are waiting for an official November announcement, his aspirations for the city do not hinge only on the winning of the bid but rather he is supercharged to transform Riyadh into a global city – Expo or not.